NZ
Twitter
Q&A
Replies on
Boko Haram
& Climate,
Not Burundi,
Some From NZ
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, July
2 -- As he
took over the
Presidency of
the UN
Security
Council for
the month of
July, New
Zealand's
Permanent
Representative
to the UN
Gerard van
Bohemen on
July 2 held a
Twitter
Q&A. Many
questions,
some answers.
A beginning.
Inner
City Press askedrepeatedly,
what happened
with or to the
Burundi draft
Press
Statement van
Bohemen had
referred to
earlier on
July 2, video
here. That
question was
not answered.
But
another Inner
City Press question,
about whether
the UN will
support the
fight of the
regional
Multi-National
Joint Task
Force against
Boko Haram,
was responded
to by van
Bohemen:
"Good
question.
#BokoHaram
will likely be
discussed in
consultations
on @UN_UNOWA
next week.
SRSG Chambas
to brief."
While
diplomatically
calling that
one a "good
question," van
Bohemen called
it a "great
question" for
a UN staffer
to ask what
the wooden
(Kiwi) bird in
the Mission's
photos was.
Likewise, the
UN Mission of
Lithuania
(on the
Security
Council with
New Zealand)
was answered,
and first; Jordan
(also on the
Council) was
re-tweeted.
While
@350nz's
question was
answered, some
other
questions from
New Zealand
went
UNanswered,
for example:
"How
will NZ meet
its
commitments to
UNSCR 1325
& use
#NZprez to
pursue active
solutions to
women, peace
&
security?"
"why
does NZ still
import from
phosphate from
Western Sahara
given Corell's
legal opinion
of 2002?"
It
begins for
real on July 7
with Bosnia
and
Herzegovina,
on which van
Bohemen said
he hopes the
draft
resolution on
Srebrenica can
be adopted.
(There are,
Inner City
Press
understands,
two drafts and
a wide gulf).
Jumping
to July 9,
there will be
a briefing and
then closed
door
consultations
on Burundi,
where for now
Pierre
Nkurunziza is
set to go for
a
controversial
third term on
July 15.
Inner
City Press
asked van
Bohemen if the
"product"
being worked
on is a
Presidential
Statement
(it's a Press
Statement) and
if it might
address the third
term and
postponing the
July 15 voting.
Wait and see,
van Bohemen
said.
Van
Bohemen said
that the UN's
Syria envoy
Staffan de
Mistura will
be in New York
next week and
he will meet
the envoy, as
President of
the Security
Council. Then
de Mistura
will return to
New York and
brief the full
Council on
July 28.
On July
14 there's the
mission in the
DR Congo --
van Bohemen,
it turns out,
was his
country's
deputy
ambassador at
the UN during
the Rwanda
genocide, and
negotiated the
statute of the
ICTR
International
Criminal
Tribunal on
Rwanda on
which we'll
have more --
and on July 16
there's Cypus,
Somalia and
Eritrea.
On July
22 there's
Iraq and on
July 23, the
day long open
debate on the
Middle East
(that is,
Palestine.)
New Zealand's
big debate is
about SIDS,
small island
developing
states, on
July 30 with
its foreign
minister. At
the UN on July
1, the
representative
of Barbados
proposed
renaming SIDS
as "LODS" --
large ocean
developing
states.
New
Zealand's many
footnotes for
the months,
items that
could be
raised,
include
Ukraine,
Yemen, Libya,
South
Sudan and
reviews of
peacebuilding
and Peace
Operations.
Inner
City Press
asked van
Bohemen if
under his
Presidency the
Security
Council will
seek
information
about
peacekeepers'
sexual abuse,
for example in
the
Central
African
Republic
where
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon has
had to convene
an
"Independent"
Panel incuding
Hassan Jallow
of the ICTR.
On this, van
Bohemen said
there is
interest in
the Council.
On June
30 van Bohemen
spoke off the
cuff about the
problems he
sees in the
Council --
divisions on
Syria and
Yemen, for
example -- and
proposed that
in July all 15
Permanent
Representatives
commit to
actually talk
about the
resolutions
and statements
the Council
issues. On
that, he held
a breakfast
with
Ambassadors to
beginning the
talking, on
which we'll
have more.
Here is Inner
City Pro's
transcription
of van Bohemen
remarks at
what's called
the wrap-up
session which
ended
Malaysia's
Presidency for
June of the
Security
Council:
My team was so
keen that I
should offer
my personal
reflections
that they
declined to
give me
[notes], so
I'm going to
see how we go.
We did have
some very good
debates this
month... I
thought the
discussion of
peace-building
was also very
interesting
and again
exposes some
of the areas
we need to be
prepared to go
into, if we’re
going to make
the best use
of the
machinery that
covers this
area, beyond
this Council.
We also had
good results
on MINUSMA and
UNAMID, even
though there
were some
quite deep
seated
differences
amongst
delegations
about aspects
of whether
those mandates
needed to be
adjusted. I
thought it was
good that we
managed to get
over those
differences
and adopt them
as a united
Council. I do
hope, as I
said
yesterday,
that this new
mandate for
UNAMID
provides an
opportunity in
particular for
a better
relationship
between the
government of
Sudan and this
Council.
But if we look
behind the
formal
outcomes, what
we achieved
this month,
and look at
problems of
the world, we
have to
acknowledge we
haven’t done
all that well.
On Syria,
Yemen, and
Libya, we have
got real
problems.
There are
peace talks
fitfully under
way in Libya,
perhaps
underway in
Yemen, and
nothing at all
in Syria. We
have real
problems in
Burundi, which
is
demonstrating
how difficult
it is to get
engaged in
prevention, if
the other
party doesn’t
want to talk
to you, it’s
very difficult
to be an
engaged
participant.
And that is a
real
difficulty.
And we’ve just
heard some
graphically
horrible
statistics
about what’s
happening in
South Sudan.
These are
situations
that reflect
very badly on
all of us and
I don’t mean
just the
member of the
Council, but I
mean as an
international
community.
There are
things about
the Council
which I think
we can
properly take
on our
shoulders but
we also have
to admit that
there are real
limits as to
what the
Council can
do. If you
look in your
quiver to see
what arrows
you can fire,
there aren’t
that many,
particularly
if other
countries
aren’t
prepared to
put their
troops on the
line, if
people aren’t
prepared to
authorize more
aggressive use
of force. And
even if they
were, we know
how difficult
it is to
actually
achieve in
these
outcomes. So I
don’t want to
say it’s all
about the
Council’s
problems. It
isn’t.
But turning to
what’s behind
that, in
particular if
you look at
Syria, we have
a real
problem,
because the
Council is
divided.
Similar
divisions are
playing out in
Yemen. Because
of those
divisions, we
are not able
to really talk
to each other,
but instead
score points.
That’s not
helpful. As to
the way we go
about our
business, some
comments have
already been
made to this,
and I want to
endorse
entirely what
the ambassador
from the
United Kingdom
has said,
about the need
to engage more
informally.
After all,
these are
informal
consultations
in that room,
and yet
they’ve
managed to
build up a
cadre of
practice that
is so
self-denying
that it’s
unbelievable
at times, as
is what you
can and can’t
talk about it,
or how you can
talk about it.
I also agree
with the
delegation of
Spain, that
the business
of pen holding
and how
resolutions
are negotiated
is an issue we
need to think
about. One
option might
be the
co-pen-holder
proposal, but
at least I
would ask the
Permanent
members to
think if you
are one of the
Five how it
looks when the
resolution
comes from one
of the five,
to the five,
and then to
the ten, and
then that’s
going to be
put to the
vote in a day
or two. This
isn’t the most
useful way of
engagement.
I also think
we as
ambassadors
have a
responsibility
to engage more
in the
products we
negotiate,
which are
negotiated and
adopted. While
of course we
recognize the
great work
done by
experts and
political
coordinators,
we in the end
are
responsible
for the
products of
this council.
And how often
do we really
talk about
them? How
often do we
actually have
a conversation
as ambassadors
about what we
are doing? I
really believe
we need to do
that, to reach
down and say,
let’s bring
this to the
room and talk
about it, as a
group.
So, there’s a
kind of sneak
preview of the
things I would
like to
explore next
month when I’m
the President.
I don’t know
how I’ll get
on, but I do
hope you’ll
help me. Thank
you.
Inner City
Press (and
InnerCityPro.com) will be covering the Security Council closely.
Watch them.
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